Call Before You Dig!

With the cooler weather September brings, many of us will spend our weekends on outside yard projects. Before picking up your shovel, the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) urges you to call 8-1-1 to have utility-owned underground lines marked. Nationwide, there were 81,409 excavation damage reports to gas distribution systems in 2015, up from 77,079 in 2014, so Call Before You Dig!

In Florida, Sunshine 8-1-1 will contact all local utilities for free to locate and mark the underground lines, pipes, and cables they own in your requested digging site. Approximate underground line locations are marked with flags, spray paint, or both.

To safely dig call 8-1-1 at least two business days
before beginning your project.

Striking a single line can lead to injuries, repair costs, fines, and inconvenient outages. That’s why every digging project—installing a mailbox, building a deck, planting a tree, or laying a patio—warrants a call. Even when digging only a few inches, your risk of striking an underground utility line still exists. According to the Common Ground Alliance, an underground utility line is damaged during digging projects every three minutes nationwide.

While respecting the potential danger of damaging its transportation, natural gas is one of the safest and most reliable sources of energy for homes and businesses. Each day, the underground invisible network of more than a million miles of pipeline safely carries natural gas from supply areas to customers’ homes, businesses, and factories across the country. Gas control and monitoring center offices operate 24-hours a day, seven days a week. Pipeline safety experts routinely patrol pipeline rights-of-way and conduct regular inspections of our nation’s pipeline system.

The PSC has safety jurisdiction over investor-owned, municipalities, intrastate transmission, and sub-metered Master Meter natural gas operations in Florida. Interstate pipeline safety is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Transportation Commission.

Through our Bureau of Safety, the PSC evaluates gas system engineering and operations to ensure that construction, repairs, and maintenance are done in accordance with specified federal and state regulations. Compliance is monitored by conducting inspections of pipeline facilities and records of regulated gas utilities.

PSC safety staff evaluates natural gas systems covering thousands of miles of pipeline and customer service lines. If gas safety violations—such as failure to repair gas leaks, failure to odorize natural gas, or failure to use qualified welders—are found, the company receives a written notification of violations. All violations must be corrected or scheduled for corrective action pursuant to the PSC’s enforcement procedures.

Pipeline safety isn’t expensive, it’s priceless! That’s why we continue to improve our gas safety program. Acknowledging increased pipeline safety concern due to aging infrastructure, the PSC requested that all Florida companies submit replacement program plans for aged infrastructure.

To date, we have approved petitions allowing three Florida natural gas companies (along with a municipality not in a PSC docketed replacement program) to recover their costs for hastening pipeline replacement within the next 10 years. These utilities began with a total of 245 miles of cast iron and 1,229 miles of unprotected steel pipe needing replacement. As of 2015, 143 miles of cast iron and 760 miles of bare steel remain to be replaced.

No matter the month, the season, or the weather, safety is very important to the PSC. Pipeline safety is a major responsibility and, together with the companies we regulate, we are committed to protecting the safety and well-being of Florida’s residents and their communities. Your safety is also why we encourage you before any digging projects—no matter how large or small—to call 8-1-1! For more information about how to make Florida the safest place to dig, please visit www.sunshine811.com.

Julie I. Brown, FPSC Chairman      

For immediate access to PSC consumer information, download the free Barcode Scanner app on your smartphone, and scan our new 2d barcode (also called QR or quick response codes).

Commission Calendar

September News Releases

Florida PSC Commission Conference on Tuesday

10-Year Site Plan Workshop Set for Wednesday

Florida PSC Extends Duke Energy’s Incentive Riders

Lynn Haven Senior Center Named a PSC Helping Hand

MainStay Suites Receives PSC’s Triple E Award

PSC Customer Meeting for East Marion, LLC

PSC to Hear FPL’s Proposed Indiantown Cogeneration, L.P. Purchase on Monday

August / September Notable FPSC Dockets

Electric Industry
Docket No. 20160093
04/19/2016   -   Petition for approval of modifications to standby generation tariff and program participation standards, by Duke Energy Florida, LLC.

Docket No. 20160154
06/20/2016   -   Petition for approval of a purchase and sale agreement between Florida Power & Light Company and Calypso Energy Holdings, LLC, for the ownership of the Indiantown Cogeneration LP and related power purchase agreement.

Telecommunications Industry
Docket No. 20140029
02/07/2014   -   Request for submission of proposals for relay service, beginning in June 2015, for the deaf, hard of hearing, deaf/blind, or speech impaired, and other implementation matters in compliance with the Florida Telecommunications Access System Act of 1991.

Docket No. 20160045
03/01/2016   -   Application for certificate to provide local telecommunications service by NDTHOST, LLC d/b/a TerraCom Direct.

Docket No. 20160119
05/06/2016   -   2017 State certification §54.313 and §54.314, annual reporting requirements for high-cost recipients, and certification of support for eligible telecommunications carriers.

Docket No. 20160133
05/24/2016   -   Request for approval of amendment to interconnection, unbundling, resale, and collocation agreement between BellSouth Telecommunications, LLC d/b/a AT&T Florida d/b/a AT&T Southeast and OneTone Telecom, Inc.

Docket No. 20160177
07/28/2016   -   Petition for expedited review of NXX-X code denial by Number Pooling Administrator for the Jacksonville exchange (Avenues), by BellSouth Telecommunications, LLC d/b/a AT&T Florida.

Water and Wastewater Industry
Docket No. 20150269
12/30/2015   -   Application for limited proceeding water rate increase in Marion, Pasco, and Seminole Counties, by Utilities, Inc. of Florida.

Water Industry
Docket No. 20140217
11/17/2014   -   Application for staff-assisted rate case in Sumter County by Cedar Acres, Inc.

August / September Notable FPSC Orders

Electric Industry
Order No. PSC-2016-0321-CO-EI   ♦ Docket No:   20160093
08/08/2016   -   Consummating Order PSC-16-0321-CO-EI makes Order PSC-16-0270-TRF-EI effective and final; docket shall be closed.

Order No. PSC-2016-0332-PCO-EI   ♦ Docket No:   20160154
08/11/2016   -   Order PSC-16-0332-PCO-EI second revising order establishing procedure; revising due dates established by Order PSC-16-0276-PCO-EI; Order PSC-16-0276-PCO-EI is reaffirmed in all respects.

Gas Industry
Order No. PSC-2016-0343-CO-GU   ♦ Docket No:   20160033
08/22/2016   -   Consummating Order PSC-16-0343-CO-GU makes Order PSC-16-0297-PAA-GU effective and final; docket to remain open.

Telecommunications Industry
Order No. PSC-2016-0333-CO-TP   ♦ Docket No:   20140029
08/12/2016   -   Consummating Order PSC-16-0333-CO-TP makes Order PSC-16-0280-PAA-TP effective and final; docket shall remain open.

Order No. PSC-2016-0338-PAA-TP   ♦ Docket No:   20160119
08/17/2016   -   PAA Order PSC-16-0338-PAA-TP granting annual certification to interstate rate-of-return eligible telecommunications carriers; final order granting annual certification to interstate price-cap eligible telecommunications carriers; order to become final and effective upon issuance of CO; if no timely protest, docket to be closed; protest due 9/7/16.

Order No. PSC-2016-0339-PAA-TL   ♦ Docket No:   20160177
08/17/2016   -   PAA Order PSC-16-0339-PAA-TL directing Neustar to provide Bellsouth Telecommunications, LLC d/b/a AT&T Florida with additional numbering resources for the Jacksonville exchange, Avenues (MNDRFLAVDS0) switch as soon as possible; order to become final and effective on issuance of CO; docket to be closed if order becomes final; protest due 9/7/16.

Order No. PSC-2016-0353-FOF-TX   ♦ Docket No:   20160045
08/24/2016   -   Order PSC-16-0353-FOF-TX denying TerraCom certification to provide telecommunications service; docket shall be closed.

Water and Wastewater Industry
Order No. PSC-2016-0342-CO-WS   ♦ Docket No:   20150269
08/22/2016   -   Consummating Order PSC-16-0342-CO-WS makes Order PSC-16-0296-PAA-WS effective and final; docket to remain open.

Water Industry
Order No. PSC-2016-0351-FOF-WU   ♦ Docket No:   20140217
08/23/2016   -   Order PSC-16-0351-FOF-WU orders 6-month compliance review of Cedar Acres pursuant to Order PSC-15-0535-PAA-WU; Cedar Acres shall file a 12-month compliance report with the Commission by 12/14/2016; docket shall remain open to allow Commission staff to continue to monitor Cedar Acres' compliance with Order PSC-15-0535-PAA-WU, the meter replacement program, and the escrow account.